Managing Director – Bridge Classic Cars
The Bridge Classic Cars team are currently in the process of stripping back and inspecting the chassis for our 1960 Jensen 541R, Lilac. The team
The 1954 Bristol 405, in for restoration at Bridge Classic Cars, has had the trim team finish off the first off 2 squab seats for
After being stripped down and inspected, the body of the 1958 Jensen 541R has been checked over and had the start of its fibreglass repairs
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the interior of the 1970 Bristol 411 which is in for its left-hand drive
The 1958 Jensen 541R which arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ recently from Holland has begun its first steps into colour with our
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have completed the next job on the classic 1981 Porsche 911 SC. One of the owners’ requests was
As part of its restoration and first fire-up since work began, the team at Bridge Classic Cars have serviced the V12 which sits at the
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the fine adjustments to the chassis of the 1956 Jensen 541 in for restoration. The
The 1973 Triumph TR6 which was built by Bridge Classic Cars for our friend Stephen has been moved into its own secure garage at home
The seat base of the 1955 Triumph TR2 has been taken out of the classic sports car and taken upstairs to the Bridge Classic Cars
The name Dodge conjures up an image of strong, reliable and purposeful cars from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. But, the history of the company,
The Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team have been working on perfecting the wheel wells of the 1956 Jensen 541. After the team had
The 1987 Daimler Double Six has been coming back together in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ. The workshop team have
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have fired up the ‘Barn Find’ 1959 Jensen 541R for the first time in several years. The team
The beautiful bright-blue 1971 MG B GT which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been bought by a member of the team!
The paint and body team at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been out to inspect the 1958 Jensen 541R which arrived yesterday at
The Bridge Classic Cars transport team have headed north from our Suffolk HQ to collect a very specialist Jensen 541. This Jensen 541 was a
Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Pettistree is this 1955 Triumph TR2. The sports car will be going into our workshop in
This past Saturday, the 25th, was the planned Bridge Classic Cars Meet-Up and The Long Shop Museum Autojumble at Bentwaters Parks here in Suffolk. A
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop welcomed the latest arrival to our Suffolk HQ recently, another very special Jensen. This 1958 Jensen 541R is actually one
Just launched over on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website is this! Our 1993 Land Rover Defender 90. After a full check over by the
After arriving this morning at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ, the 1959 Jensen 541R has already made its way onto the ramp for the
It’s a rare and unique occurrence which seems to only happen here but, at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ this afternoon we have 4
As part of the checks on the reported fuel gauge issue with the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster, Jon has checked some wiring on the classic
The body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been performing some fibreglass repairs on the boot lid of the 1956 Jensen 541 in with us
The paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars have painted the restored fuel tank of the 1905 Riley 9HP as part of its restoration. The team
Our technician Jon has been looking into an oil leak at the back of the engine on the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster. After inspecting the
The new carpet set for the 1968 Morris Minor Van has been taken up from the workshop to the trim shop in order for the
The Bridge Classic Cars team are currently in the process of stripping back and inspecting the chassis for our 1960 Jensen 541R, Lilac.
The team have been looking into the depth of any corrosion and also to the extent of previous repairs to the chassis which will need to be rectified and corrected by the team to bring this frame back to better than new.
Keep a look out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page soon for more updates on the 1960 Jensen 541R.
The 1954 Bristol 405, in for restoration at Bridge Classic Cars, has had the trim team finish off the first off 2 squab seats for the car.
Lydia, one of our trimmers, has made the whole seat by hand using the original as a template to work from. Each individual piece has been made by hand specifically for the car and the results look absolutely incredible.
After being stripped down and inspected, the body of the 1958 Jensen 541R has been checked over and had the start of its fibreglass repairs in the Bridge Classic Cars bodyshop.
The team have gone over the entire body to inspect any visible cracks or defects in the body before sanding back certain known and suspect areas to find any piece of the composite body which will require attention. In some areas, simply a small build-up material is needed to strengthen or flatten out a particular place.
Once the matting was laid down onto the panels and then resined, it is left to cure and harden before being sanded down.
The trim team at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the interior of the 1970 Bristol 411 which is in for its left-hand drive conversion.
The team have fit new original-style sound deadening into the floors and tunnel of the classic Bristol as part of the restoration side of the project. Also while fitting the sound deadening to the car, the team refurbished and refit the cabin vents which sit in the footwell kick panels.
The 1958 Jensen 541R which arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ recently from Holland has begun its first steps into colour with our in-house body team.
The team have been assessing and inspecting the body of the classic Jensen for any damage to the fibreglass or to any fittings/trim work. Once this was done, the body shop could begin to remove the parts off of the body individually before cataloguing and putting them safely into storage to await its reassembly by the team later in the process.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have completed the next job on the classic 1981 Porsche 911 SC.
One of the owners’ requests was to remove the aftermarket Momo Indy steering wheel and fit an original style wheel. For this, the team removed the aftermarket wheel from the boss in order to then remove the ground rings and swap them onto the original wheel for the horn.
With this swapped over, the original wheel was slipped down the steering shaft and correctly torqued to spec before the covers were put back on.
As part of its restoration and first fire-up since work began, the team at Bridge Classic Cars have serviced the V12 which sits at the heart of the 1987 Daimler Double Six.
With this generation of Jaguar-based V12, it is not always the easiest to change the spark plugs. So, the team have been carefully disconnecting and moving the various hoses and lines out of the way to get to the spark plugs and remove the distributor cap.
After that, everything could be changed over to new pieces and then put back together with the hoses laid back over and routed in their correct place.
The workshop at Bridge Classic Cars have been working on the fine adjustments to the chassis of the 1956 Jensen 541 in for restoration.
The team are beginning to weld in the necessary braces and panels as the sides and roof structure begin to be put onto the brand-new frame. For a job such as this, the team are having to make sure that each dimension and axis of the chassis is square when it is welded in. Carefully, the team have moved around the frame to allow for this and gently push and pull certain places in order to bring them into line before welding them in permanently to tie the whole piece together.
The 1973 Triumph TR6 which was built by Bridge Classic Cars for our friend Stephen has been moved into its own secure garage at home in France.
Stephen recently took delivery of both the 1973 Triumph TR6 and the 1973 Jaguar E-Type V12 Roadster, Fern Grey. Both of these cars now live in France with their owner in their own separate garages!
The seat base of the 1955 Triumph TR2 has been taken out of the classic sports car and taken upstairs to the Bridge Classic Cars in-house trim shop to be worked on.
Brian, one of our trimmers, has had the seat base on the bench to begin its repairs.
The first step was to unpicking the stitching on the seat base to remove it from the metal sprung base. Then, the cover could be transferred onto a new piece of calico to create a backing for the repairs to bind to. Along with this, the team recorded the piping to give it back its original shape for the beautiful dark red leather. Whilst the cover was off the metal base, Brian could repair some of the springs which over time had become frail and broken.
Next, the trim team carefully trimmed out the base pieces from the calico before glueing them down and then refit them together with a new foam centre. Finally, the team could stretch the repaired cover over the base and fixed in place with brand-new hog clips before being installed back into the car.
The name Dodge conjures up an image of strong, reliable and purposeful cars from the 1950s, 60s and 70s. But, the history of the company, its models and the 2 brothers behind it is greater than the sum of its parts.
The Dodge Brothers, John and Horace, began their empire in a small machine shop in Detroit, Michigan. Originally, the two brothers began making bicycle parts before ever getting involved in the fledgeling automotive industry springing up around the city and surrounding area.
They had worked closely with Henry Ford (in fact, the brothers for a time held high-up positions within the Ford Motor Company) by lending their manufacturing knowledge, business know-how and investment into the very early days of Ford (they also had done engineering and machining work at the early stages of the Oldsmobile company). What they learned while producing all manner of components for the unprecedented production run of the Model T, would set them on the way to creating a car company the likes of which the world had never seen.
Early automobiles of the time were notoriously fragile, dangerous and rather unrefined. The Dodge Brothers set out to change all of that. It’s remarked on that Dodge actually gave the world the word ”Dependability” because of how rugged the engineering behind their own cars was, but also because they didn’t shake their passengers into oblivion across the mostly dirt roads of early 20th century America. And, they didn’t break the bank…
Dodge would also be a pioneer in the use of 12-volt electrics as standard in cars, something that wouldn’t truly catch on industry-wide for another 50-60 years afterwards. The sheer ruggedness of the Dodge Brothers’ cars saw them scattered to the most far-flung reaches of the known world, all four corners of the earth had a Dodge somewhere.
The DA broke cover in 1929, under its official name the DA Six. The car would come 9 years after the unfortunate passing of its founding brothers but carried their legendary name and their approach to rugged yet refined engineering. One of the greatest refinements pioneered on the DA’s was the use of rubber engine mounts, which stopped the harsh vibrations from the 6-cylinder engine and 3-speed gearbox being transmitted through the frame and into the cabin of the car. Not only for comfort but to stop anything from rattling itself loose and to top it all off, the DA’s were fitted with hydraulically controlled drum brakes on all 4 corners of the car. A first for an American-built car up until that point.
Our particular 1929 Dodge Brothers DA Phaeton/Tourer has spent some of its 97-year life in South Africa. The car was in the care of collector John Ryall who used this incredible patina’d pre-war tourer, it was used on rallies and tours across the country and kept stored away safely when not in use. We then acquired the car before having it loaded up inside of a shipping container and sent it all the way to us here in England. Our workshop team could not believe just how good of a condition this classic Dodge was in!
And that is how our part of the story begins with the stunning dark blue 1929 Dodge DA. We’re currently awaiting its UK registration and it is up for sale right now on our classic car sales platform, MyClassics!
If you want to read another absolutely incredible and heartfelt story of a couple’s love story with a one-family owned, 1927 Dodge then click here to read the wonderful story from Motorious which inspired us to write the history of our 1929 Dodge Brothers DA.
The Bridge Classic Cars paint and body team have been working on perfecting the wheel wells of the 1956 Jensen 541.
After the team had finished with the careful resin and fibreglass filler work, the team brought them into our in-house paint booth/oven to have their first coats of primer.
The team have carefully blended aluminium and fibreglass to remake and repair the wheel wells so the primer has covered these seamlessly blends. The wells will be now put into storage for the reassembly stage of the restoration.
The 1987 Daimler Double Six has been coming back together in the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop at our Suffolk HQ.
The workshop team have been getting the classic Daimler back together in order to perform the first fire-up of the V12. Firstly the team have put the newly repainted and refurbished fan shroud onto the cars core support so the various leads and hoses can be routed on the front of the car. At the same time, the team have worked on refitting the chrome trim to the flanks of the Daimler as well as spraying the wheel wells with durable, hard-wearing black paint.
This is all part of the cars restoration journey, in which the team will fire up the car to check all the necessary systems which were removed from the car.
The workshop team at Bridge Classic Cars have fired up the ‘Barn Find’ 1959 Jensen 541R for the first time in several years.
The team used a small electric fuel pump to feed the carburettors, cleaned up the spark plugs and it fired up first time! The 4-litre straight-six ran absolutely perfectly with our workshop manager Jon at the wheel and our senior technician Dave handling the fuel.
Take a look at this amazing moment at our Suffolk HQ.
The beautiful bright-blue 1971 MG B GT which recently arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop has been bought by a member of the team!
Our Marketing Manager Freddie has bought the classic sports car which he’ll be using as his daily commuter and also for sunny days out to use and enjoy.
Freddie has promised us that he’s going to keep us updated with the little jobs he does on the car and the trips out he makes in his amazing first classic.
The paint and body team at the Bridge Classic Cars restoration workshop have been out to inspect the 1958 Jensen 541R which arrived yesterday at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ from Holland.
Chris and Mauro inspected the body for damage and areas which need repair or refinement in order to come up with a plan to get this stunning 1950s GT car into the best shape possible before heading into the booth for its paintwork.
The car will be finished in Ice Blue Metallic with a Lobelia Blue roof by the team for its owner.
The Bridge Classic Cars transport team have headed north from our Suffolk HQ to collect a very specialist Jensen 541.
This Jensen 541 was a stalled restoration in Lincolnshire which the team have managed to acquire. This particular 541 is special in the fact its identifying numbers, when checked against The Jensen Bible, show this to be the 8th production car built by Jensen in the 541 run.
The car was collected and put into our enclosed transporter to be taken to our secure storage facility, The Hangar, to await its restoration commission.
Keep a look out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more updates soon on this 1955 Jensen 541.
Just arrived at the Bridge Classic Cars workshop in Pettistree is this 1955 Triumph TR2.
The sports car will be going into our workshop in order for our technicians to have a look into a couple of issues for its owner as well as having a full gearbox service for the car.
Along with that, the trim team will be taking a look at the passenger seat to see if anything can be done to it.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page for more on the 1955 Triumph TR2.
This past Saturday, the 25th, was the planned Bridge Classic Cars Meet-Up and The Long Shop Museum Autojumble at Bentwaters Parks here in Suffolk. A coming together of classic cars and motorcycles with the world of vintage parts and automobilia.
The Bridge Classic Cars team arrived early at our storage facility, The Hangar. As we moved the cars from under the car covers, The Long Shop team began to arrive shortly before the first vendors got on site.
As the sun began to warm up the Suffolk air, the first classics came into sight. The plan was that Bridge Classic Cars would hold a free meet-up and the £5 Autojumble entry to The Long Shop Museum would go to help fund their restoration of a 1937 Buick at their Leiston workshops. As the sides of the airfield began to fill up with classics and modern cars alike, the steady flow of people back and forth from the Autojumble and into our Hangar grew.
We had put all of our projects and storage cars on display for everyone to see inside the hangar along with a host of our latest competition cars just outside, joining in with the growing crowd of vintage metal. The 1957 MG A Roadster and 1993 Land Rover Defender were in pride of place and were joined by a previous winner! The 1975 Ford Escort RS Mexico Recreation, which was won by Chris in November last year made its first outing of the year to come and meet up with us and everyone else.
The Autojumble was a mixture of parts and automobilia. From vintage garage signs to new shiny hardware, new motorcycle fairings to Victorian woodworking tools and everything in between. From one end to another, people trade parts for pieces and bought those rare gems that only come about with something like an Autojumble. Families came out to see, the older generation of petrolhead passing down the knowledge to those just beginning their journey into a bygone era.
The stream of cars into the classic meet-up was steady, with some leaving and immediately something was there to take its place. From classic Bentleys to a 1980s Nissan Micra. The wonderful part about all of this is the variety that you see and something like an open meet-up.
As the clock approached mid-day, the crowds began to thin. Other shows, other plans and other commitments saw the gatherings of classics disperse and it was time for the Bridge team to begin putting all of our project and storage cars back inside under their covers.
The Bridge Classic Cars workshop welcomed the latest arrival to our Suffolk HQ recently, another very special Jensen.
This 1958 Jensen 541R is actually one of the prototype cars produced by Jensen as a proof of concept for the automatic gearbox option. It is also believed one of its original owners was part of the Lever family, which went on to become the global company behind Unilever.
It also features a custom, handmade grille which was made by the owner for the car that the team will incorporate into the reassembly for its owner but our team will be delivered to the customer with its signature radiator flap, a key element of the 541R.
This 1958 Jensen 541R has come to us from the Netherlands for our body and trim teams to work their craft on the classic GT car. The car will be fully assessed for any repairs that need to be made before it is refined and worked on by the body team while the trim shop begins work on the interior of the classic 541R.
The car will be finished in Ice Blue Metallic with a Lobelia Blue roof by the paint team with a complimenting dark blue interior and grey piping.
We’re always excited to welcome another 541 into the Bridge Classic Cars family and can’t wait to show you the progress very soon on this special 1958 Jensen 541R.
Have a look at the gallery below of the 1958 Jensen 541R as it arrived on its trailer from Holland!
Just launched over on the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website is this! Our 1993 Land Rover Defender 90.
After a full check over by the Bridge Classic Cars workshop who gave it a clean bill of health after fitting the battery cut-off switch ahead of its date in front of the camera.
Recently the team took it out around our filming location near our Pettistree workshop to do the full video and photoshoot for the off-roader.
The beauty of the Defender was clear when as soon as we pulled off the beaten track, the truck felt at home. Uneven ground, changing surfaces and slow, steady progress across any type of terrain is the best place for a classic Land Rover. But then, as soon you put it back onto solid ground it became a pleasant cruiser. The updates done by the previous owner made the car far more civilised than one would imagine.
The quilted seats and upholstered armrests made driving the car an absolute delight on the road and made sure you had some comfort while the 4-wheel drive system did its work underneath you in the rough stuff. Although built in 1993, the truck was updated last year to a much more modern specification to use around town as a rugged, reliable daily driver or the perfect set-up for a weekend away in the country.
And now, it could be yours! Head over to the Bridge Classic Cars Competitions website right now and get your tickets to win our 1993 Land Rover Defender 90.
To see the full gallery and video, see below:
After arriving this morning at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ, the 1959 Jensen 541R has already made its way onto the ramp for the team to begin assessing and inspecting the 1950s GT car.
As with all of our restorations and projects, the car will go through a full inspection and assessment by the various departments (both aesthetic and mechanical) to compile a report and come up with a plan for the restoration of the unique British grand tourer.
Keep an eye out on the Bridge Classic Cars news page very soon for more updates on the 1959 Jensen 541R.
It’s a rare and unique occurrence which seems to only happen here but, at the Bridge Classic Cars Suffolk HQ this afternoon we have 4 individual Jensen’s in our workshop!
Each of these cars are at different stages of their restorations. Some just starting such as the 1959 541R, and some are completely stripped and ready for rebuild like the chassis of a 1956 541 at the back in the centre while our finished 1962 Jensen 541S Peony Red which is on the ramp for the team to check a few things over for its owner.
It’s a rare sight even for us!
As part of the checks on the reported fuel gauge issue with the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster, Jon has checked some wiring on the classic Jaguar.
Jon has been in the boot of the Roadster to check the wiring for the fuel tank sender which also controls the fuel gauge. He checked the overall condition of the connections as well as performing a continuity test on the circuit.
All came back completely clear and showing a good ground.
The body team at Bridge Classic Cars have been performing some fibreglass repairs on the boot lid of the 1956 Jensen 541 in with us for restoration.
Mauro has carefully reglassed certain areas of the bootlid to strengthen key places as well as refit the stripped-back boot latch. All of these were then built up over several layers before the resin was left to harden and cure.
The paint shop at Bridge Classic Cars have painted the restored fuel tank of the 1905 Riley 9HP as part of its restoration.
The team cleaned down the recently restored and tested fuel tank before painting it satin black to go back on the car.
Our technician Jon has been looking into an oil leak at the back of the engine on the 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster.
After inspecting the engine once it had been run up to temperature, he found the offside rear cam cover was weeping past its seal. After removing it, he found the seal was not the correct arrangement for the back cover on the cylinder head. Comparing it to the resource materials we have for these engines as well as several other freshly built Jaguar straight-sixes from the era we have in our workshop, Jon could come up with a solution to fix the oil leak once the cover was reinstalled.
After the test, there was no longer an oil leak from the back of the cylinder head. However, the rear mains eal in the engine does leak and out the bottom of the bell-housing of the gearbox.
The new carpet set for the 1968 Morris Minor Van has been taken up from the workshop to the trim shop in order for the team to finish off the pieces for the car.
Lydia, has taken the individual pieces which were made Brian to create the neat hand-bound edges which run all the way rough each carpet panel that make up the entire set. Now with these finished, they can go back down into the workshop to be installed into the car.
Bridge Classic Cars are award winning Classic Car Restoration and Maintenance specialists. Your pride and joy is in safe hands with our expert Classic Car Technicians. Take a look at our awards here.
